Sarnia police have been busy keeping an eye on a controversial encampment in the city’s south end.
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Chief Derek Davis said police are up to almost 400 hours during the past six weeks – the equivalent of two full-time police officers – in dedicated dispatch time to Rainbow Park.
“We are seeing a significant draw,” he told the city’s police services board during its meeting Thursday at headquarters.
Davis said he’s seen claims on social media that police are taking a hands-off approach at the park, home to 30 to 40 people dealing with various issues including homelessness and mental health, but that talk is uninformed.
“We are there daily, throughout the day with different types of calls for service,” he said. “There have been multiple arrests. We’ve had warrants. We’ve had seizures. We’ve had all kinds of police interaction that you would expect in terms of a police response to a high-risk environment.”
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One of the arrests made there recently was for attempted murder.
An additional challenge is some community service providers, such as medical outreach teams, won’t go into the park without police there, said Julie Craddock, Sarnia’s deputy police chief.
“That just adds another layer where, in order to get the service in, we have to be connected,” she said. “It adds to that resource challenge.”
Both police officials said they’re in constant communication with City of Sarnia officials on the issue.
“We are working very closely with city administration as far as coming up with some solutions,” Davis added. “Lots of other municipalities are in the same boat.”
Craddock pointed out the city is drafting its own protocol for dealing with homeless encampments. A community safety and well-being leadership group had been taking the lead on the issue, but city staff has since taken over and is aiming to present a protocol by the July 8 council meeting.
“This is a community-wide challenge,” Craddock said.
The call for a protocol cam amid neighbors’ concerns of violence and drug overdoses, all near a children’s playground. Sarnia has unused emergency shelter spaces, but recent court rulings in Waterloo and Kingston, and a third-party legal opinion for the City of Sarnia, has found such beds aren’t enough to justify removing people from public parks and doing so violates charter rights to life, liberty and security of person.
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